Incoming chairman of Bank of England court of directors says it is 'extraordinary' it has no women members

In charge: Mark Carney has also voiced concern about the lack of women at the central bank

The incoming chairman of the Bank of England ‘board’ has said it is ‘extraordinary’ it has no women members.

Anthony Habgood, who succeeds Sir David Lees as chairman of the central bank’s Court of Directors next week, told MPs that the lack of female representation was a problem.

‘It is extraordinary that the current board of the Bank of England doesn’t have any women on it,’ he told the Treasury Select Committee. ‘We should have more women. The most crying gap right now is a gender gap.’

The last woman to sit on the Court was Lady Susan Rice, managing director at Lloyds Banking Group and former chairman and chief executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland, who left the Bank of England in May.

Incoming deputy governor Nemat Shafik is expected to join the Court after starting at the Bank in August while chief operating officer Charlotte Hogg attends meetings but is not a member.

Habgood, a veteran businessman who is chairman of Whitbread and Reed Elsevier, said there were three women on the boards of both companies.

‘It’s not a bad place to be,’ he said. ‘I would like to see the Bank get to that sort of level pretty quickly.’

Governor Mark Carney has also voiced concern about the lack of women at the central bank.

The monetary policy committee has had an all-male line-up since 2010 although Kristen Forbes joins next week and Shafik in August.